Table of Contents
Introduction 9
Part 1 Overview of Mahjong 11
Chapter 1 The Basics of Mahjong 13
The Origins of Mahjong 14
The Creation of Mahjong 15
Mahjong Meets the World 16
America Standardizes the Rules 20
China Makes It Legal 22
The Different Types of Mahjong 22
Playing by the Table Rules 24
Part 2 International Mahjong 27
Chapter 2 International Mahjong-Tile Guide 29
Suits 29
Honors 31
Bonus Tiles (Flowers and Seasons) 32
Non-Tile Components 33
Chapter 3 International Mahjong-Setup and Gameplay 35
Seating the Dealer 35
Rounds and Prevailing Winds 35
Creating the Wall 37
Distributing the Tiles 39
Replacements 41
Starting the Round 41
On Your Turn 42
Claiming the Discard 44
Declaring Mahjong 46
Scoring the Hand 47
Chapter 4 International Mahjong-Scoring 49
Simple Scoring 49
Casual/Win-or-Lose Scoring 50
International Scoring 51
Scoring a Sample Hand 53
Primary Scoring Fans 54
International Scoring Fans 60
Chapter 5 International Mahjong-Strategy 73
Evaluating Your Opening Hand 73
What Tiles Do You Need? 77
Where Can You Claim the Tiles You Need? 78
How Can You Guarantee Your Point Minimum? 81
Strategy During the Game 87
Don't Meld Too Soon 88
Managing Your Discards 92
Discarding Defensively 94
The 1-4-7 Rule 96
Part 3 American Mahjong 99
Chapter 6 American Mahjong-Tile Guide 101
Suits 101
Winds 102
Dragons 102
Bonus Tiles (Flowers and Seasons) 103
Joker Tiles 104
Non-Tile Components 104
Chapter 7 American Mahjong-Setup 105
Picking the Dealer 105
Creating the Wall 106
Distributing the Tiles 107
Chapter 8 American Mahjong-The Charleston 110
First Charleston 110
Second Charleston 111
The Courtesy Pass 112
Summing Up the Charleston 112
Chapter 9 American Mahjong-Rules 113
Starting the Round 113
On Your Turn 114
Claiming the Discard 115
Declaring Mahjong 116
Scoring the Hand 117
Chapter 10 American Mahjong-Reading the Scorecard 119
Categories 119
Decoding the Hands 120
Colors 121
Chapter 11 American Mahjong-Strategy 123
Choosing a Hand 123
Arranging Your Hand 123
Finding Your Category 125
The Charleston 132
Chapter 12 American Mahjong-Strategy During the Game 139
Reasons to Wait on Melding 139
Managing Your Discards in the Early Game 142
Unwanted Pairs and Jokers 143
Defensive Discarding Late in the Game 144
What Is a Safe Discard? 145
Part 4 More About Mahjong 149
Chapter 13 Variants Around the World 151
Hong Kong Old Style 151
Chinese Classical 153
Riichi (Japanese) 154
Zung Jung 155
Other Regional Styles 156
Mahjong Solitaire 158
Appendix A FAQ 159
Appendix B Glossary 166
Bibliography and Resource List 172
Index 173
